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On Feb. 14 2011 I was in a car accident. I was making a left onto traffic street once I had the green lite and a woman ran the red light and hit me the side of my car, she tiboned me and to make matters worse I was 38 weeks pregnant. I had to have an emergency surgury to get my babe out and to repair my uterus that broke open. Now her insurance company is no paying because police on the seen said he could put flault to either oneof us. I hired 1 law and backed out on me when the letter came back from the woman insurance company stating they r not paying. I need advise on what to do, this nearly killed me and my baby. Please help me

Asked on 7/06/11, 5:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

I am so sorry you and your child had to go through this terrible accident. I hope your recovery is going well.

Now that the insurance company has denied liability and is refusing to compensate you for your injuries, you need to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit. My firm is available to provide you with a free consultation, and based on what you have written I anticipate we would be willing to accept your case on a contingency basis.

As your previous attorney probably told you, under North Carolina law, you are not allowed to recover for your injuries if you are found to be even 1% at fault for your accident.

In your accident, the insurance company is likely denying liability because it is a word-vs-word situation (e.g. you say the other driver is at fault, and the other driver says you were at fault). The insurance company doesn't think you can prove your case in court, so it is refusing to pay you anything and using the 1% rule I mentioned above to deny you compensation.

I worked as an insurance adjuster for almost 5 years negotiating and settling injury claims, and in my experience the insurance company will not change its liability decision. Rather, you need to file a lawsuit and take your case in front of a jury and let a jury decide to pick someone to believe: you or the other driver, although it is still possible to settle the case once a law suit is filed.

If your case were to proceed to trial, many factors can sway a jury, such as (1) which driver is nearer to home (e.g. more familiar with the traffic light), (2) which driver has a worse driving record (e.g. more likely to violate a driving rule), (3) which driver has a worse criminal record (e.g. more likely to lie or perjure themselves, etc.

My law partner, Salem Thacker, and I handle personal injury cases, and focuses on auto accident cases. Our firm has offices in both Greensboro and Durham. As a former insurance adjuster I handled thousands of auto accident claims. If you'd like help with your case, I am happy to talk with you during a free consultation. You can reach me by email at [email protected], by telephone toll-free at (888) 820-5885 or directly at (919) 200-6630.